Jimmy Carter - Salt ii

Picking up where Kissinger left off, Carter also worked for a new
strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT II) with the Soviet Union but did
not enjoy even a narrow victory. Knowledgeable about nuclear weapons
because of his naval service, he feared the destructive power already in
existence and hoped to halt the spread of such weapons to other nations
and to check the arms race. He pressed the Soviets to agree to cuts in the
nuclear arsenals, but Soviet leaders rejected his first proposal. Carter
pressed forward, aided by Vance and special arms negotiator Paul Warnke.
Negotiations did not break down, and signs of progress emerged from time
to time. Yet, foes of a new treaty, such as Senator Henry Jackson, fearful
that it would weaken American security, posed the possibility that no
treaty acceptable to the Soviets would be ratified by the Senate. The
negotiators did not finish work until 1979, and then Republican and
Democratic foes in the Senate argued that the Soviets had triumphed in the
negotiations, brushing aside the administration's contention that
the agreed-upon limits on strategic forces would make the world a less
dangerous place and insisting that the United States must increase
military spending substantially. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
weakened prospects still more, persuading Carter in January 1980 to call
upon the senators to postpone debate. He continued to favor eventual
ratification of SALT II but no longer pressed for it.